Major Crimes Mysteries
The Congressman's Wife
Chapter 1
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
7:03 am
"9-1-1. Do you need fire, police or an ambulance?" The matter-of-fact dispatcher asked on the end of the line.
"This is Trent Mawbry with Mawbry Security. I need to report a missing person" Trent Mawbry told the dispatcher. "Can you please send police to the home of my client?"
"Sure, Mr. Mawbry. Can you please tell me the address of the missing person? I am dispatching a police officer as we speak.
Trent Mawbry paused. "The address is 14222 Corona Del Mar Parkway." Mawbry told the dispatcher.
She immediately recognized the address as being in one of the most affluential areas of Pacific Palisades. "I have dispatched an officer to the address and we have an officer close by. Can I have the name of the missing person please?" She continued.
Trent cleared his throat and paused. "Fiona Marquardt" he said strongly.
The dispatcher paused. "Congressman Marquardt's wife?" the dispatcher asked stunned.
"Yes, that is her. I hear the officer knocking now." Trent responded. "Should I continue with him?"
"Yes sir, I'll let you go now." The dispatcher ended the phone call after hearing the police officer introduce himself in the background of the call.
As soon as he hung up the phone, Trent walked over to the young officer standing in Congressman Christian Marquardt's entry way.
"Come on in, Officer" Trent told the officer.
As soon as the officer walked into the room, he turned and was face to face with Congressman Christian Marquardt. Christian Marquardt aged thirty eight, was the chosen congressman for CA district 25. Christian reached out his hand to shake hands with the police officer. Christian, with his rugged, Californian native looks, came from a family of what would be considered old Californian money. His great grandfather several times removed came to California from out east before California was even a state. He built one successful business after another and passed his business genius down to his offspring. Soon the family tired of the business side and started to branch off into politics. It was known since Christian was in diapers that eventually he would hold a seat in government at the family choosing and he didn't fail to satisfy their desires.
Even Christian's wife, Fiona, had to meet the family matriarch's approval before the two could begin seriously dating. Fiona, two years Christian's junior, was a stunning beauty with a brain to match. Before she and Christian became engaged, she said she felt like she was part of the royal family with trying to get approval for marrying the heir apparent. She went to school to become a lawyer and even had sat for the bar exam which she passed on the first try. The second she became the spouse of Christian Marquardt, all that was expected to be quashed and she was expected by the Marquardt family to become the woman behind the man despite what the family said on television when discussing the equality of women and women's rights.
Officer Daniels reached out and shook the congressman's hand vigorously.
"Congressman, it is great to meet you." Officer Daniels said eagerly. "I have followed your rise in politics since the very beginning of your career. I love everything you stand for. I have voted for you in every election."
"Thank you, Officer Daniels, was it?" Christian Marquardt asked the young officer shocked by the officer's reaction to what he was there for. "I appreciate your vote of confidence, but we are here because my wife is missing."
"Of course, Sir. I'm sorry." Officer Daniels responded. He quickly stepped back and cleared his throat.
Trent Mawbry stepped forward to tell Officer Daniels that they needed to make a missing persons report. "It isn't like Fiona Marquardt to just disappear. She is a very dedicated wife and mother. She wouldn't just not come home."
Officer Daniels took his pad and pen out of his shirt pocket and asked if he could sit down.
After Officer Daniels settled in on the couch, he looked at Trent. "Where was Mrs. Marquardt last seen?" He asked both men.
Christian held up his finger and was about to speak up, but as he was about to utter his first word, several more police officers stepped into the room, including Robbie Oderno. Christian was shocked to see the turnout of more police officers.
"Gentlemen" he started. "I am sure we don't need this level of turnout. I would like to keep this as low key as possible. Fiona has not quite been herself lately, so I don't think there is anything foul play about this. I can't quite rule it out though since I have been getting death threats from a far-right group due to a vote I took on a bill that they were less than pleased with my response.
Robbie Oderno looked down at Officer Daniels name badge and told him that he was free to get back on patrol that he would be taking over the investigation and that the officer could return to patrol.
Officer Daniels, clearly disappointed, stood up and shook the congressman's hand and told him he hoped Fiona came back ok. Christian thanked him and immediately went back to the subject at hand.
Christian Marquardt turned to Robbie Oderno "As I said, I don't think all this rollout is necessary. I really don't want the media getting ahold of this information if Fiona just needed time to herself. If I was that concerned, I would have called the Capital police and the FBI."
Robbie held up a hand. "Let's just start at the beginning, Congressman. When is the last time you saw Fiona?"
"I last saw her yesterday. She sits on the board of a women's shelter in the inner city. They had a board meeting last night and Fiona left at about 4:30 to attend it. He gave Robbie the address to the woman's shelter.
"What was she wearing?" Robbie continued.
"She was wearing a Michael Kors jumper." Robbie rolled his eyes as the congressman described the jumper. He then went onto describe Fiona's designer purse and shoes always naming the designer before the actual description of the clothing.
Trent stepped out of the room and returned a few moments later with the most recent picture of Fiona the congressman had and handed it to Robbie. He thanked Trent and continued on.
"You said Fiona hasn't been herself lately. Can you expound on that please?" Robbie asked him.
"Fiona has been slightly depressed lately. She hasn't been herself since the birth of our daughter last year. I think she has a slight case of postpartum depression, but she won't admit to it." Christian continued. "I have asked her to seek out some help, but she refused to do so.
Just as Robbie was getting ready to ask his next question, a child of about four walked into the room holding a blanket in her hand. She had blonde Shirley Temple curls and sucked her thumb. She walked up to her father and crawled into his lap. "I want Mommy. Where is my mommy?" Rebecca Marquardt asked her father starting to cry. It was obvious the child had been crying before even entering the room.
"This nice police detective is going to help us find mommy." Christian responded to his child.
Robbie leaned across and rubbed the child's arm. "We'll do everything we can to find your mommy and bring her home." Normally, Robbie wouldn't make such promises, especially to a child, but in this case, he couldn't help it. The child was breaking his heart just looking at her.
"Alexis" Christian Marquardt yelled out suddenly. Within seconds, a very tall, blonde modelesque nanny looking to be in her mid-twenties came into the room. "Can you take her please? He said. Rebecca tried to grasp onto her father. He took her face in his hands. "I have to talk to these policemen, OK? I will be in after they leave to try to find mommy." The four-year-old released her grasp and went with Alexis.
Although Robbie already knew the answer to this, he asked anyway. "How many children do you have, Congressman?"
"We have four children. They range from nine to our youngest is thirteen months." The congressman told Robbie. "We have three girls and our oldest is our son. My hope is he heads into politics like the generations before him. Maybe President some day, huh?"
Robbie felt it was an odd statement for what they were discussing at the time, but let it slide.
"Congressman, I think we have enough for now. Please leave your phone lines open in case you get a call for ransom or we need to get a hold of you. We will be sending some techs over to tap your lines, ok." Robbie told him. Trent stepped forward to inform Robbie he would help the officers in any way they could. Robbie shook both their hands and stepped out the door.
As he was walking to his car, he took his phone, scrolled to the number he was looking for and hit send.